Rape case verdict: Asaram to be in prison until death; top 10 developments

The Jodhpur SC/ST court, which earlier in the day convicted Asaram in a five-year-case of raping a minor, on Wednesday sentenced the self-styled godman to life imprisonment until death. Two other co-accused in the case, also convicted today, were given 20 years each in jail.

Earlier in the day, while pronouncing the verdict inside the Jodhpur central jail amid tight security, the court had held Asaram guilty of assaulting and outraging the modesty of a 16-year-old woman, who, at the time of the incident, was a student at one of Asaram's ashrams in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. The incident allegedly took place on the night of August 15, 2013, at another Asaram ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur.

After the verdict, the rape survivor's father said he hoped Asaram would get "strict punishment". The self-styled godman's downfall sees him leave behind a Rs 100-billion empire.

The verdict was pronounced inside the premises of the Central Jail in Jodhpur amid tight security to avoid a repeat of the violent protests and arson seen when another self-styled godman, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, had earlier been sent to jail in a rape case.